


Our secrets

by Aeris444



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, M/M, Magic Revealed, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-23 23:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16169165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeris444/pseuds/Aeris444
Summary: The Knights of Camelot learned of the King’s death when they heard the tolling of the bells.They immediately gathered in the barracks where Leon organized patrols in the town to ensure there wasn’t any misbehavior in the town after the announcement.During his patrol Percival found Merlin sitting on the ground in a corner of the gardens behind the castle.





	Our secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to DevonShea for her wonderful work as a beta reader for this fic!

The Knights of Camelot learned of the King’s death when they heard the tolling of the bells.

They immediately gathered in the barracks where Leon organized patrols in the town to ensure there wasn’t any misbehavior in the town after the announcement.

During his patrol Percival found Merlin sitting on the ground in a corner of the gardens behind the castle.

“Merlin? Are you alright?” he asked, kneeling next to his friend.

“Percy?”

“Yes… What are you doing here alone?”

Merlin looked at Percival and the knight saw the tears in his eyes.

“I… Uther is dead and...And it’s my fault.”

“What?” Percival couldn’t believe that Merlin could be involved in any way in the King’s death.

“I… I... “ Merlin’s sobs didn’t let him speak.

Percival gently put his hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “Merlin, calm down…”

His words didn't have any effect on Merlin. The knight didn’t know what to do. He had never seen the prince’s manservant in such a state. Merlin was always the one to take care of them, to comfort them, to make them see the brighter side of life. Never had Merlin shown such weakness. So Percival did the only thing he thought could comfort the man, he sat by his side and took him in his arms, gently rocking him until Merlin finally stopped crying.

They stayed like that for a long time. Percival didn’t want to pressure Merlin to talk and the garden felt like a safe haven in the chaos that reigned in the castle. They could hear the footsteps of the soldiers patrolling on the chemin de ronde and the bells that tolled from time to time to honor the fallen King.

Percival knew they couldn’t stay there, though. Someone would find them eventually.

“Merlin, we can’t stay here…”

“I can’t go… Arthur, I can’t see him now.”

Percival really wondered what happened. Had Merlin really played a part in Uther’s death? That seemed impossible.

“Do you want to come with me?” Percival offered, understanding that Merlin didn’t want to be alone.

“Can I?”

“Of course.”

Percival stood up and helped Merlin.

Slowly, they walked towards the knights’ quarters. Percival led the way to his rooms in silence. There, the knight lit a fire as Merlin sat on the edge of the bed.

“Are you feeling better?” Percival asked as he joined Merlin on the bed.

Merlin shrugged.

“Merlin, if you want to tell me what happened…”

“I can’t!” Merlin cut in. “I can’t, Percy! If… If I tell you, you will… I can’t tell anyone!”

“Hey! Merlin, shh… Whatever you did or didn’t do, I’ll never judge you.”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Explain it to me, then…”

“I can’t, I really can’t. I can’t tell my secret to anybody else.”

“Anybody else? So someone knows about it?” Percival asked, really intrigued now.

“Gaius… And Lancelot knew about it, too. He wasn’t meant to discover it, though.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

Percival knew that asking that was mean but he felt like Merlin needed to talk about what happened with Uther and he truly couldn’t imagine a reason for Merlin to be ashamed.

“If I tell you… You’ll hate me.”

“Did you kill Uther?”

Apart from that Percy couldn’t imagine a reason to hate Merlin… And even if he had committed a murder, Percival wouldn’t judge him without having heard the whole story.

“No! Not really.I mean... It wasn’t intentional.”

“Now, you’re losing me… What happened?”

Merlin sighed, defeated.

“You’ve asked for it.”

Merlin stood up and went to stand in front of the fire. He lifted his hands in front of him and murmured a few words Percival didn’t understand. Then the Knight saw the embers of the fire gather in front of Merlin, slowly forming the silhouette of a dragon.

It couldn’t be… No… Merlin wasn’t…

The dragon started to move, flying slowly around Merlin.

“You’re a sorcerer,” Percival said, his voice surprisingly soft.

The dragon disappeared then and Merlin looked at Percival again.

“Yes.”

Silence. Percival didn’t know what to say or what to do. Never had he imagined that the prince’s manservant could be a magic user. A sorcerer in the heart of Camelot, a land were magic was forbidden and its users killed for it. But Merlin was there, alive.

“Why did you come here? You could have been killed!”

Percival’s worry about Merlin took the upper hand on all his others feelings. The simple idea that Merlin could have ended on the stake made his heart hurt. Whatever some may say about magic, Percival didn’t care. He knew Merlin, he knew he had a good heart. He remembered the old lady that lived in his village when he was just a child. She was strange but she always made the best medicines. There had been rumors about her but Percival’s mother had told him not to care. If she had magic, she had decided to use it for the good of the people and that was what mattered. It was the same for Merlin.

Percival stood up and joined Merlin in front of the fire.

“Merlin? Why do you live here?”

“Because it’s my destiny,” he answered matter-of-factly.

“I don’t understand.”

“It will be a long story,” Merlin warned.

“Do you have anywhere else to be at the moment?”

Merlin shrugged and sat on the rug. 

At that moment, Percival realised that upon finding Merlin he had left his patrol and that Leon would wonder where he was. 

“Wait just a second… I need to let Leon know I’m here or I’ll wonder why I stopped my patrol!”

He went to the hallway and called a servant to ask him to go and let Leon know about his whereabouts. He also asked for some food to be brought to them. 

Percival went back inside then and joined Merlin in front of the fire.

***

When Merlin finished his story, the fire had died in the hearth. He had told Percival about his arrival in Camelot, about Kilgharrah, about his destiny to help and protect Arthur. And about all the events that had led to Uther’s death.

When Merlin finally finished his story, the sun had set on Camelot. They just had been interrupted by a servant bringing them some food they had barely eaten. 

Percival didn’t know what to say. He had a hard time imagining what Merlin had endured since his arrival in Camelot, all he had done for Arthur.

As he’d talked, Merlin had come closer to Percival so the knight did the only thing he could think of and held the sorcerer in his arms.

He wanted to say he was sorry… Sorry that Merlin had to go through all these ordeals alone. Sorry that Merlin had to hide who he really was.

Merlin stayed in Percival’s arms. After some time, though, Percival saw Merlin’s eyelids flutter.

“Merlin, you should rest. It has been a long day…”

Merlin nodded and looked at the bed and then at the floor.

“Don’t even think about it,” Percival said. “I’ll give you my bed tonight.”

“But you need to sleep, too.”

“I’ve slept on the floor a hundred times before Merlin. I’ll survive.”

Merlin reluctantly took the bed when Percival unrolled a blanket on the floor next to it.

The silence now surrounded them. The town was calm; everyone had gone to bed and the next day would be the first of a new era for Camelot. The king was dead. A new king would be crowned.

Percival had no idea of what would happen once Arthur would be crowned King, but there was one thing he was certain of. He sat up on his makeshift bed and looked at his friend.

“Percy?” Merlin asked, surprised. “Are you alright?”

“I was thinking of the future…”

“I’m thinking about it, too… I… I had hoped that if magic managed to cure Uther, everything would change for me and all the magic users. That Arthur could finally see it can be used for the good of people… Now, all my hopes are reduced to nothing… And he’ll probably hate magic even more than before! Magic cost him both of his parents!”

“Merlin, whatever may happen, I want you to be certain that I’ll never let Arthur hurt you… I...I’ll protect you!”

“But...You’re a Knight of Camelot! You’ve taken an oath and swore to protect Arthur and Camelot!”

“Yes. But today I want to take another oath. I want to promise you something, Merlin.”

Percival moved and knelt in front of Merlin.

“I swear I’ll keep your secret safe and that I’ll do everything in my ability to protect you should Arthur or anyone else try to hurt you.”

“Percy… Please, stand up.”

Percival obeyed and saw the emotion in Merlin’s eyes. He sat back next to him on the bed.

“Percy? Why did you do that?”

“Can I say that this is my secret?” Percival tried, not ready to confess the feelings that he hid in the depths of his heart yet.

A shadow of a smile appeared on Merlin’s lips and Percival knew he wasn’t as good as Merlin in hiding his secret.

“Our secrets are safe.” Merlin murmured before letting his head fall on Percival’s shoulder.


End file.
